When I go to a quilt show, I do want to see the quilts. There are rarely vendors that I will buy from because I hand quilt - I generally only looking for specific things - I want YLI thread, and stencils for my hand quilting designs. Occasionally I'll find something to surprise me. My favorite show w/ vendors was the international quilt show in Cincinnati last spring. I'll definitely go back next year.
The last show I went to was way too crowded and I couldn't see or look at anything. I did get my scissors sharpened and I left pretty quickly.